Joy and Sadness

This week we פרשת שמיני that begins with the word, “ויהי.” We are told that the word ויהי, translated as. “ It came to pass,” is generally a sign that something negative is about to take place. (We just saw this when the Megilla began with the word, ויהי.)

In this case, we learn of the tragedy of the death of the two sons of Aharon, Nadav and Avihu. They were killed as they offered an אש זרה, a strange fire, on the day the Mishkan was dedicated.

Despite their death, the dedication of the Mishkan was bittersweet. The people knew that this was meant to be an atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf, but they also realized the gravity of that sin.

To this day, we are still feeling the pain connected to that sin.

There is an important life lesson here. Joy and sadness can coexist. We celebrate family Simchas, but often feel some sadness because a loved one had passed away and could not be there.

We cannot expect things to be perfect, but we need to appreciate all the good within life’s imperfections.

When we go to Shule to pray, we should feel the joy of being able to reach out to G-d. But we should also feel the loss of what could have been had there not been the sin of the Golden Calf.

Death would have been eliminated and the Jewish nation could have remained on the level of Adam and Eve before their sin. We pray and believe that those days will return speedily in our time.